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11/30/2009

Sedona’s third major eco-zone is the tall forest that lines the Oak Creek Canyon and extends atop the highest formations. Sedona comprises the southern portion of the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest. These towering conifers can reach over 200 hundred feet.

My favorite part of the ponderosa is their bark. Stick your nose in between the splits of it and you’ll get a delicious scent, somewhere between vanilla and praline pecan. Long needles come from the branches, which are a good source of vitamin c in a survival situation.

These forests were threatened by Sedona’s eight year drought that ended in 2008. That dry period led to major forest fires in 2006, one in the Village of Oak Creek and the other in west Sedona. The latter, did not reach any homes, but spread across the top of Wilson Mountain. Once it crossed the top of the formation, it threatened Oak Creek Canyon.

In spite of hundreds of drops of water and retardant by planes and helicopters, the fire continued for days. The canyon was evacuated, and hundreds of fire fighters waited below, as the flames approached. To fight it, they used what I would call, “The worst method of all…except for all the others.” They set the west wall of the canyon ablaze, creating a backfire which ended the conflagration. These actions burned the trees of the high canyon wall to a crisp, but they saved famous places such as Slide Rock State Park, Garland’s Lodge and private homes.

11/27/2009

The eco-zones that comprise Sedona also include our riparian zone. This zone comes from the Latin riper, meaning river. In Sedona, when you’re by water, you’re by Oak Creek. It’s pretty much all we’ve got.

Oak Creek is a whole new world. Suddenly, leafy trees (“deciduous”) appear. These include the towering Arizona sycamores and cottonwood trees that give us autumn foliage each year. The foliage can begin in late September at the north end of the Oak Creek Canyon, and endure past Thanksgiving downstream by Red Rock Crossing.

The creek is clear and usually clean, so with a good eye you may spot the brown, rainbow or speckled trout that swim in it. Spotting fish is also the habit of marvelous Great Blue Herons, who like to do this in the afternoons along the creek. The critters of the high desert – including javelinas, coyotes, lizards, bobcats, deer and jackrabbits – will wander into this area too.

It was here by the creek that pioneers of the modern community lived. That includes Bear Howard, the Purtymans, the Thompsons and the Schnebly family. If they were going to get water, they had to carry it, so better to live close.

11/25/2009

Your neighborhood has a name, but what do we call neighborhoods in nature?

We call them “life zones,” “ecological zones,” or abbreviated, “eco-zones.” Here, at a given altitude, we find a climate and all the plants and animals that thrive in it. Depending on the degree of detail, some count more than 10 different zones in Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon. Let’s discuss the three most prominent ones.

The first is “high desert.” As a true desert receives less than 12 inches of precipitation – and Sedona averages 14 – it doesn’t actually qualify for desert status. Nonetheless, the term is locally popular, and reflects a generally dry climate. About half of Sedona’s precipitation in this “neighborhood” comes from rain, in the form of the summer monsoons, and half from snow, which tends to fall on winter nights and melt away quickly in the morning.

“High desert” terrain often rests between 3,500 and 5,500 feet of altitude (as Sedona does) and is sometimes referred to as “pygmy forest.” This reflects the short height of Arizona cypresses, junipers and piñon pine trees. “P.J.”, as in piñon and junipers, is another common name. Manzanita and scrub oak (or “shrub live oak”) bushes are also common. In high desert we find javelinas, coyotes, bobcats, deer, and jackrabbits, along with falcons, hawks, ravens and western jays.

I’ll describe another eco-zone in my next post. For more information on ecology, check out the award-winning Sedona's Top Ten Hikes.

11/10/2009

There are a number of favored spots in Sedona to connect with the energy here. Traditionally, most people agree to four major points: Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, BoyntonCanyon, and Airport Mesa.

What does the human evidence suggest? It is clear that people are having energetic experiences in places throughout Sedona. In addition to the “Big Four,” for example, people often report sensing energy near the Chapel of the Holy Cross and also in the Schnebly Hill area. Because these two are so often mentioned, you may hear people say that there are six or even more vortexes. Beyond this, locals and frequent visitors have their own special places in nature where they can feel the energy tangibly.

This suggests that Sedona as a whole is a vortex, with the energy spread throughout it like a bowl. For this reason, I recommend going to whichever sites you feel drawn. Which strikes you as more interesting or more beautiful? Make an effort to go deeper into nature than you have before, feeling a sense of gratitude and appreciation wherever you end up.

10/27/2009

As is typical of modern humans, we underestimated the knowledge and technology of our predecessors by presuming that the Sinagua had little contact with other ethnic groups of the region. Not so. They participated in trade routes that stretched for great distances in the four directions. Traders dealt in cotton and clothing textiles, turquoise and precious stones, seashells used as coin and fashion items. Most impressive of all, routes extended south all the way into Mexico and Central America. The exotic feathers of macaws were brought from there, perhaps useful in the ceremonies of the Sinagua.

Dwellings of the Sinagua are found across the Verde Valley today. Sites include Tuzigoot, where three large pueblos sit on a ridge above the banks of the Verde River. West of Sedona are Palatki and Honanki, which feature dwellings nestled under impressive red rock cliffs. You can see ancient petroglyphs and pictographs here too. South of Sedona is the site known as Montezuma Castle, where a five-story, 20-room dwelling and a six-story, 45-room dwelling rest magnificently in white-gray limestone walls above Beaver Creek. This area also shows influences from the Hohokam, who lived primarily in the areas around modern-day Phoenix.

Movin’ On

The more one studies the history of the Southwest, the more one realizes that migration isn't just an important part of the story: It is the story. As ancient ones before them and modern Arizonans after them, the Sinagua migrated. In the middle of the 14th century, they moved away from their pueblos. Why they went remains controversial, but drought was one possible cause. We now know that a two-decades­ long period of reduced rainfall occurred that same time.

More recent evidence comes from another nearby site of importance, Montezuma Well. This natural spring was a source of water for the Sinagua, which they channeled as irrigation for their fields. Historians believe that the Sinagua left 20 years after irrigation from the Montezuma Well peaked. Richard D. Foust, Jr., Professor of Chemistry at Northern Arizona University has demonstrated that the well has high amounts of arsenic, nearly 20 times higher than recommended levels. Bones of animals that would have also been part of the Sinaguan's diet have been shown to have arsenic levels 100 times higher than normal.

Other Cultures

Migration was not nearly finished. From the north came the Apache and Navajo. From the south came the Yavapai, originating from Yuman-speaking peoples known as the Pai. Yavapai means "People of the Sun," and members of this tribe hunted and gathered in the region as early as 1300. In 1875, the cavalry marched hundreds of Yavapai people east to the San Carlos Reservation, where they lived and intermarried with the Tonto Apache. In the early 1900s their descendants were allowed to return to the Verde Valley. Many became farmers at the encouragement of the U.S. government, settling near the army's Fort Verde, in the heart of present-day Camp Verde near Sedona. The Yavapai-Apache have been one formal nation since 1934, and their reservation rests around Camp Verde and Clarkdale.

10/12/2009

On Thursday, October 8, 2009, up to 50 people entered a sweat lodge outside Sedona, led by author/speaker James Arthur Ray. A few hours later, two people lay dead, and dozens were hospitalized. In Sedona and beyond, many are wondering how this tragedy could have occurred. In this post, I’ll discuss the background of the retreat center where the lodge was held.

Michael Hamilton left his life as a builder in California with the kind of personal life change that draws many to Sedona. He was divorced, and became interested in New Age ideas. When I met him in 1997, we each had an office at The Center for the New Age. Michael worked as a channel, offering the advice of Archangel Michael to tourists. (This of course caused occasional confusion at the center, as people sometimes wondered which Michael we were talking to.)

Clearly, the best thing that happened to Michael in the late 90’s was meeting his future sweetheart, Amayra, who had come to Sedona from Holland. She is a sweet soul who would become active in Sedona’s New Age community. Apparently providing the financial backing, Amayra helped Michael move to a large home by the Oak Creek. In Sedona, such a property would often serve as a second or third home for multi-millionaires. For the Hamiltons, it acted as “Michael’s Vision,” a place to bring in visitors for Michael’s channeling sessions.

As anyone who works from home knows, it’s not always ideal for meeting clients. So in 2002 a far bigger ambition became reality: To create a spiritual retreat center. With Sedona property being remarkably expensive, one can get a lot more for a lot less just beyond the town’s limits, which is usually, beyond the Red Rocks. Then called, “Deer Pass Ranch,” the Hamiltons converted an old homestead, began building rustic accommodations and meeting halls, while manicuring the land with labyrinths. (In our own publication, Sedona: The Essential Guidebook, we’ve been conflicted about discussing retreat centers that are not in Sedona proper, but clearly they provide a cheaper alternative.)

The development took time to put in place, and appears to have followed a wise business decision. Rather than promote their own events or host individual visitors, they increasingly booked the center out to other groups. In addition to James Arthur Ray, relationship expert Barbara DeAngelis holds events at the center.

Were the Hamiltons present the evening of the sweat lodge? Right now, nobody is certain. The bigger question Sedonans are asking is how good their insurance coverage is, and how good a lawyer they can afford.

In our next post, we’ll take a look at personal growth author/speaker James Arthur Ray, host of the tragic retreat at Angel Valley.